Reeling 'em in at the Tybee Island Pier

Photo by Dennis Knight, Savannah Morning News James McFerrin, of Greenwood, South Carolina, fishes regulary off the Tybee Pier. McFerrin is pictured with a sheepshead he caught at the end of May, estimated to weigh six pounds.

James McFerrin lives about 200 miles away from Tybee Island in Greenwood, South Carolina. But the four-hour drive doesn’t keep the avid fisherman away from his favorite spot to drop a line — the Tybee Island Pier.

McFerrin makes the trip South at least once a month and has been doing well on recent visits.

“I love fishing out there because you can catch anything, of any size, at any time,” McFerrin said. “And every time I catch something on the pier, the tourists come around and take pictures. They really seem to get a kick out of it.”

In late May, McFerrin hooked a sheepshead that he estimated at six pounds. On his most recent trip two weeks ago, McFerrin caught a spotted sea trout that was 22 1/2 inches and weighed five pounds.

Tommy Jordan, who runs Rip Tide Bait and Tackle at the end of the pier, has become friends with McFerrin. Jordan sells bait and tackle and even rents poles out for those who want to try their luck at the spur of the moment.

“Tom is great,” McFerrin said. “He’s always willing to help out with advice or helping you land a fish with the drop net he has.”

Jordan opens his shop at 7 a.m., seven days a week. He works until 3 p.m. and has an employee take over until about 8 p.m.

“Things have been a little slow with the tropical storms we’ve had and now the heat wave in the last week,” Jordan said. “The fish are still out there, but there haven’t been as many fishermen. It’s supposed to start cooling down, so that should help things out.”

The best time to fish at Tybee is about 30 minutes before the high tide rolls in, Jordan said. Fishermen have been pulling in plenty of small sharks and rays, with the trout bite being off and on.

“Some days, we’ll have up to 35 trout caught and some days it’s less than 10,” Jordan said.

On June 28, Jordan said a fisherman caught a spot tail bass (or red drum) that measured 26 inches.

“That’s two inches too big, so he had to let him go,” Jordan said.

McFerrin and his girlfriend, Rebecca Thomas, had a nice haul on their recent trip, catching 16 keeper trout between them, he said.

McFerrin said he’s had his best luck using live shrimp for bait when fishing off the pier.

“I stop in Thunderbolt and pick some up at the (Adam’s) Bait Shop,” McFerrin said. “You need to watch the weather a bit. When it’s real windy, the fish don’t seem to bite. But when there is no wind, you are going to catch some fish.”

For information on fishing at the Tybee Pier, contact Tommy Jordan at 912-507-0576.

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I was out on the Pier just a couple weeks ago and the fish were definitely biting! Not sure what the gentleman was catching but in the short time my family and I were there, we saw the man and his friend reel in a few (including a small shark they tossed back in.) Great post on fishing off the Pier! Here is a link to another post on Fishing on Tybee that I thought was really informative.http://tybeeisland.com/blog/you-can-always-go-fishing-on-tybee/